


give him two lips like roses and clover/then tell him that his lonesome nights are over

by captainkit



Series: and they were roommates [2]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:53:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28425042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainkit/pseuds/captainkit
Summary: Sykkuno sighed. ‘’I’m guessing you realised I wasn’t playing a drinking stream.’’‘’No’’ said Corpse agreeably. ‘’But that was a surprisingly convincing lie, so your imposter skills aren’t as bad as everyone says.’’
Relationships: Corpse Husband/Sykkuno (Video Blogging RPF)
Series: and they were roommates [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2081988
Comments: 75
Kudos: 907





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> 250% taking this down if the OCs express an issue because these characters do not belong to me, as much as i'd like to put them in my pocket

_november 22_

Getting Sykkuno to talk about anything he was feeling was like pulling teeth.

For most part, Sykkuno was predictable- or so it seemed. There was very little that gave away what he felt, for most part because he always seemed to be buzzing with nervous energy. It was difficult to tell when Sykkuno was just being himself or if he was having a down day.

Corpse woke up to Sykkuno curled up in the side of the bed and frowned slightly. It was unlike Sykkuno to migrate from his arms, for practical reasons too- Sykkuno got cold very easily. But Sykkuno was curled like a shrimp on the corner, his back to Corpse. Corpse leaned over, fixing his mask absently as his hand reached out to touch his back.

Cold.

‘’Sykkuno?’’ he murmured, shaking Sykkuno slightly.

Sykkuno uncoiled slightly, blinking up at Corpse and Corpse frowned harder. Sykkuno’s eyes were slightly bloodshot, dark circles blooming under his eyes.

‘’Did you sleep well?’’ Corpse asked carefully. Something felt wrong here.

‘’I didn’t sleep much’’ said Sykkuno, still curled away from Corpse. Corpse tilted his head, trying to think about what happened last night, but all he could remember was Sykkuno already asleep when he came back to bed from his makeshift studio in the other room. He’d just crawled in and pulled Sykkuno closer to himself, curling around his warm body and that was that.

‘’Oh’’ said Corpse, slowly taking his hand away from Sykkuno. Sykkuno seemed to shrink further into himself. ‘’Are you cold?’’

‘’No’’ said Sykkuno, and he sat up too. His eyes were tired, and in a rare vulnerable moment, he slumped, burying his head in his hands and Corpse noticed his hands shivering.

‘’Baby’’ murmured Corpse, reaching out for him, and Sykkuno’s head snapped up and he recoiled sharply.

‘’Sykkuno?’’ Corpse asked cautiously, pulling his hand back like he just got burnt. ‘’I’m not going to hurt you.’’

Sykkuno took a deep shaky breath and reached cautiously towards Corpse and Corpse let him, his arms wrapping around Corpse’s neck. Corpse held him, rubbing his back which was both cold and clammy. Sykkuno clamboured onto his lap clumsily, burying his face in Corpse’s neck and Corpse pressed soft kisses to the top of his head.

It wasn’t unlike Sykkuno to be cuddly, but he was gripping Corpse tightly, fingers fisting up in his shirt and he was breathing unevenly. Corpse shifted him slightly so that he could sit easier but Sykkuno made a pained little sound and Corpse just held him closer, resting his chin on top of his head protectively.

Sykkuno’s skin started warming over, his breathing relaxing out, but his fingers didn’t unclench, still gripping Corpse’s shirt with alarming intensity. Corpse’s heart ached, fingers tracing the fine blades of Sykkuno’s shoulders.

Eventually, Sykkuno’s grip on the shirt relaxed too.

‘’Hey’’ murmured Corpse, kissing his forehead softly. Sykkuno’s eyes were tired as he leaned up to press a soft kiss to Corpse’s masked lips. ‘’What’s going on?’’

Sykkuno shook his head and Corpse noticed his hands shaking as he reached out to cup Corpse’s face.

‘’Nothing’’ he said, lips curving up slightly as he gazed into Corpse’s visible eye. ‘’Just not feeling very nice today.’’

Corpse took the hand on his face, covering it with his own larger one and kissed it softly. Sykkuno’s face pinked slightly at that, eyes flitting away shyly as he giggled.

‘’What are you gonna do today?’’ Corpse murmured, booping his nose. Sykkuno seemed to think that was an invitation for a kiss and his eyes shut, long lashes brushing the tips of his cheekbones and Corpse obligingly lifted his mask, kissing him softly.

Sykkuno always kissed like it was their first time, a soft gasp escaping him as soon as Corpse’s lips brushed his own and Corpse smiled slightly, taking his bottom lip into his mouth and sucking it softly. Sykkuno melted into his arms, and Corpse pushed him backwards gently into their pillows. Sykkuno’s soft hands came to rest on his face, holding Corpse’s face like he was something precious. He pulled back slightly and Sykkuno came back in, kissing him with a strange sense of urgency. Corpse settled back down, pressing his weight against Sykkuno who sank further into the nest of their pillows. He ran his hand against Sykkuno’s bare waist, smiling as he felt the gooseflesh rise and slowed the kiss down. His other hand reached for one of their comforters, dragging it over their heads so that they were engulfed in darkness again.

‘’Sykkuno’’ he murmured, and he could see his eyelashes flutter open. The comforter was thick and warm, and Corpse gently brushed a thumb against his cheekbones as Sykkuno’s long arms curled around his neck, keeping him close.

‘’Corpse’’ whispered Sykkuno, and their lips were so close that it was tempting for Corpse to lean in for another kiss, another reason to stay in this little cocoon of darkness with Sykkuno safe and warm and not cold and clammy and curled up like a shrimp, away from Corpse…

‘’You didn’t tell me what you’re doing today’’ he murmured, feeling out Sykkuno’s face with his thumb. Sykkuno did that to him a lot, when it was dark and he was splayed on Corpse’s chest, curious nimble fingers tracing the features that he never saw but still trusted enough to be in love with, and Corpse’s heart ached as he brushed his thumb against Sykkuno’s soft lips and Sykkuno kissed the finger softly.

‘’Nothing much’’ said Sykkuno softly, his lips moving softly against the finger. ‘’Probably do nothing til evening and play some Minecraft with Toast.’’

His wiggled his legs around a little before wrapping them around Corpse’s waist and Corpse groaned feeling himself harden, his mind wandering about other instances where Sykkuno was wrapped up around him-

‘’Promise me you won’t stress yourself out, baby’’ said Corpse, using his most compelling voice, watching as Sykkuno tilted his neck back, not helping his situation whatsoever. He leaned in to press soft butterfly kisses to the column of his neck. Sykkuno moaned, soft and wanting and Corpse resisted the urge to bite down and leave a mark.

‘’Sykkuno’’ he purred, taking his soft earlobe in his mouth. He tugged it gently and Sykkuno moaned again.

‘’I won’t stress myself out’’ said Sykkuno breathlessly, raising his hips up and Corpse hummed amusedly as he felt his erection. ‘’It’s just Toast and Rae, I’ll should be okay.’’

Corpse paused, briefly avoiding every instinct to press kisses against every inch of Sykkuno’s skin and glanced up at him.

‘’It’s okay if you’re not’’ he murmured, feeling slightly guilty. Knowing Sykkuno, what he just said translated to Sykkuno not opening up if he didn’t feel okay because he promised Corpse he would be. ‘’I want you to know that.’’

‘’Yes’’ said Sykkuno quietly, and Corpse studied the faint profile he could make out of him, his beautiful slanted eyes staring up at him. Even in the makeshift darkness they gleamed with the pinpricks of light that leaked from the comforter, the adoration for Corpse apparent. Corpse melted, leaning down to kiss Sykkuno deeply, his large hand cradling Sykkuno’s delicate jaw. Sykkuno made a soft pleased noise, kissing him back fervently, rocking his hips gently against Corpse’s own.

‘’You’re so lovely, Sykkuno’’ said Corpse as Sykkuno gasped into his mouth at the touch of his hand between them.

‘’Corpse’’ moaned Sykkuno, his nails digging into his back, as Corpse bit at the vulnerable stretch of his neck, sucking softly as he heard Sykkuno moan for him. The way his soft, reserved voice cracked and pleaded for him got Corpse harder than anything else, listening to Sykkuno’s erratic breaths, the soft whimpers and moans.

‘’So good for me’’ he whispered, pressing their foreheads together. Sykkuno’s head turned away, embarrassed but pleased, and Corpse leaned down, playfully biting his jaw and Sykkuno moaned, his fingers raking up marks that Corpse knew he was going to bear for at least a few days.

‘’Corpse please’’ begged Sykkuno, rocking up into his hand needily and Corpse removed his hand, pinning down Sykkuno’s restless hips and Sykkuno made an indignant noise.

‘’What do you want baby?’’ crooned Corpse, smiling against his jaw. He liked hearing Sykkuno ask, he liked watching the colour rise to his cheeks and turn his lovely cheeks pink. Even though he couldn’t see anything much under the blanket, what he really liked was the way Sykkuno got flustered and desperate enough for him to just shell out a Sykkuno that was untethered and selfish, needily seeking his own pleasure instead of the ridiculously selfless version of himself.

Sykkuno was moaning, rutting up his hips against Corpse’s hands, trying to get some relief and Corpse smiled, brushing his thumbs against his hipbones. Sykkuno was built in angles and sharp edges, the bones of his narrow hips covered by just the thin layer of skin and Corpse felt an odd moment of protectiveness as he felt Sykkuno, unguarded and exposed under him, so trusting towards a man he’d never even seen and he decided to not pursue his power thrill today.

Taking mercy, he took them both back into his hand, kissing Sykkuno as deeply and tenderly as he could, and Sykkuno moaned sweetly, fingers coming back around to caress Corpse’s face. Corpse pulled away, pressing his forehead to Sykkuno’s; overwhelmed with love as he came, and Sykkuno let out a punched out gasp a few seconds later.

Corpse lay there, feeling mildly boneless on top of Sykkuno, their cum still covered on his hand and partially on Sykkuno’s body and Sykkuno made a soft noise, reaching up to lick his fingers clean and Corpse’s tired dick jumped slightly at that.

‘’God I wish I could see that’’ said Corpse, suddenly wishing he could put everything else on hold and spend the whole day in bed with Sykkuno. Sykkuno bit his finger playfully. ‘’So good for me, Sykkuno.’’

Sykkuno made a little happy noise and Corpse smiled, nuzzling him gently. Sykkuno brushed his nose against his and Corpse couldn’t help but laugh, the little Eskimo kisses awakening an almost childlike happiness in him, and Sykkuno was giggling too, sneaking in soft brushes of his lips to Corpse’s.

‘’I love you’’ Corpse murmured, capturing his lips in a gentle kiss before Sykkuno gently tugged him to lie on top of him, his face buried in Sykkuno’s neck.

‘’Me too’’ mumbled Sykkuno and Corpse smiled. Sykkuno didn’t always respond to that, he would either blush or say something else but a direct response was better.

‘’Feeling better?’’

Sykkuno sighed, his arms tightening around Corpse. ‘’I don’t want to ever let go. Do you have anything to do today?’’

Corpse made an apologetic noise. ‘’Sorry baby, I have some work with the new track coming up.’’

‘’Don’t apologise’’ said Sykkuno sweetly and his lips brushed against Corpse’s temple lovingly. ‘’I’m so proud of you.’’

Corpse felt heat rise in his cheeks and buried his face in Sykkuno’s chest and Sykkuno just let out another content sigh and held him tightly.

  * ••



Despite all that, Sykkuno’s mood didn’t seem to fare better.

Corpse didn’t see much of him anyway, after their little stint in the morning, he briefly pressed a chaste kiss to Sykkuno’s soft lips before he went to work on his music. No one, not even Sykkuno was allowed into that room but Sykkuno left some water and smoothie outside the room with a tiny smiley note.

When he went to return the tray, he saw Sykkuno sitting with his head in his arms at the table.

‘’You should probably take a break’’ he said, gently shaking the smaller boy’s shoulder as he walked past him. Sykkuno lifted his head and smiled tiredly before shaking his head.

Corpse paused briefly, turning around to see Sykkuno sitting like a lost baby deer, eyes far away and tired, hands drumming incessantly on the table. His eyes focused on Corpse’s and he smiled slightly, lip curving up as he walked over to Corpse, who was feeling mildly guilty.

‘’Don’t worry about me’’ he said, placing his hands on Corpse’s chest. Even tired and dark ringed, Sykkuno’s eyes always looked at him with so much love and adoration that Corpse wrapped his arms loosely around his waist and kissed him on the forehead.

‘’It’s just a few more hours’’ said Corpse soothingly, rubbing his back, trying not to worry about the way Sykkuno’s hands trembled against his chest. ‘’I’ll send this out to the main sound engineers and we’ll get a few days for the track to return.’’

‘’I can’t wait to hear it’’ said Sykkuno, and Corpse leaned down to push another soft kiss to his pretty lips before reluctantly unwinding and going off to the third, smaller room.

Corpse came out of the room a few more times after that, and each time Sykkuno looked a little bit more defeated. Eventually when he came out close to 5pm, he couldn’t see Sykkuno anywhere in the hall or the other rooms so he peeked into Sykkuno’s own room. Sykkuno was thanking someone in the subchat, and Corpse smiled, shutting the door behind him.

Two hours later, almost done with his work and feeling pleased, he walked into the kitchen to see Sykkuno drinking water, eyes distant. It was evening and Sykkuno wasn’t very well lit as Corpse walked up behind him to press a kiss to the top of his head.

‘’How’s work going?’’ Sykkuno asked softly, not turning around.

‘’Almost done, I just have to do a few listening passes’’ said Corpse smugly, dropping another kiss to the soft hair. ‘’You? Feeling any better?’’

‘’Yeah, I’m streaming right now’’ said Sykkuno. His voice was quiet and soft and Corpse nodded, smiling encouragingly. ‘’There’s an Among Us going on right now’’

He stepped away from Corpse enough that Corpse could smell-

‘’You’re drinking on the stream today?’’ he asked curiously. The glass of water wasn’t infact water.

‘’Yeah, just thought it’d be funny’’ he said, shrugging. ‘’Liquid courage and all.’’

‘’Aren’t you a tired drunk?’’ Corpse teased, smiling as he remembered what Peter had said about him.

Sykkuno gave him an oddly sad smile as he nodded in agreement.

‘’You should get back to work’’ he said quietly as Corpse gently stepped away from him. The tone of his voice made him pause feeling mildly confused and guilty. The past few weeks had been mostly him ghosting Sykkuno everywhere except in real life where also he wasn’t very present, mostly working on his music. Sykkuno was an incredibly supportive partner but Corpse had a feeling that his circumstantial neglect was what was at least partially weighing down on Sykkuno.

‘’I love you’’ he called out and Sykkuno glanced up. He glanced up, and Corpse studied his face, gaunt in the shadows like an incredibly beautiful ghost and he nodded, finishing the glass of mystery alcohol.

 _He’s streaming right now_ Corpse reassured himself, shutting the door to his studio. _No point in fussing now when he’s also working._

He managed to live in his bubble just long enough to do one listening pass before his phone started ringing.

_Valkyrae?_

‘’Rae’’ he said warmly, smiling as he watched his email get sent. ‘’I said we’d play on Wednesday didn’t I?’’

‘’How angry are you right now?’’

‘’Angry about what?’’ Corpse asked, spinning slowly on the chair. Something was very wrong, Rae sounded like she was on the verge of crying herself.

‘’Sykkuno isn’t answering my calls’’ said Rae, breathless. ‘’I didn’t think you would either.’’

‘’Sykkuno is streaming right now’’ said Corpse slowly. ‘’So are you. Both of you are playing Among Us right now.’’

‘’Corpse, Sykkuno stopped streaming 20 minutes ago’’ said Rae, and she was definitely crying. ‘’I thought you’d be mad at me and Toast right now for making him cry-‘’

 _‘’What’’_ Corpse demanded, standing up. ‘’Rae, I’ll message you later, I need to see how he’s doing.’’

He cut the call in the middle of her apology, feeling little remorse. He ran towards Sykkuno’s room, which was uncharacteristically dark. He flicked the lightswitch on. Empty. Save for a few houseplants, the room was devoid of anyone living.

Corpse almost screamed before he noticed his own door slightly ajar and exhaled.

Sure enough, Sykkuno was fast asleep on the other side of the bed as Corpse’s. He was wearing nothing but one of Corpse’s long-sleeved shirts, clutching his pillow as tightly as he could. He was curled up in a ball, and Corpse’s heart ached as he took in the sight of the tear tracts that had barely dried up and Sykkuno’s pink nose and face along with the snuffling sounds his breathing made.

‘’Oh Sykkuno’’ he murmured, brushing his hair away from his forehead. Sykkuno seemed to be deep asleep, lips parted and Corpse pressed a kiss to his forehead before moving towards the balcony of his room.

The balcony used to be a dust driven place that faced the city, but since the entry of Sykkuno in his life, the area had transformed. Corpse absently touched the vivid red maple leaf that hung heavily over the edge, redialling Rae’s number.

‘’What happened’’ he asked, wincing a little at how cold he sounded. Rae was Sykkuno’s friend, he couldn’t imagine her or Toast trying to actively make him cry.

Rae spoke for a while, her normally vibrant voice trembling softly and Corpse stared at the dreary traffic that had stopped at one of the intersections, sitting down heavily.

‘’Is he mad right now?’’ Rae asked, and she sounded as miserable as Corpse felt.

‘’I don’t know’’ Corpse said, staring from the glass window at Sykkuno’s sleeping form. From here he could see Sykkuno’s soft features, relaxed in sleep in a way he’d not seen all day. ‘’But I’m pretty sure he’s not mad at you, Rae.’’

‘’Is he not talking to you too?’’ Rae asked, her voice wan.

‘’He’s not talking at all, actually’’ Corpse replied. ‘’He uh. Drank and fell asleep.’’

‘’Oh he’s gonna wake up to a murderous headache’’ said Rae immediately. ‘’You-‘’ she laughed sadly. ‘’Drunk Sykkuno is actually really adorable. You missed on him actively coming upto you and professing all kinds of love for you.’’

‘’Sykkuno is always adorable’’ Corpse replied absentmindedly, fingers scratching at the chipped paint on the railings. ‘’This isn’t your fault Rae, he’s been stressed out for a while now. I don’t think it helped that I was busy this past week too.’’

‘’I still feel responsible’’ Rae replied. ‘’He- did you watch the clip?’’

Corpse exhaled. ‘’There’s clips?’’

‘’I- is this the first you’re hearing about this?’’ Rae asked quietly. ‘’I feel worse now, I feel like Sykkuno should’ve been the one to tell you.’’

‘’Sykkuno is sleeping, remember?’’ Corpse replied gently. ‘’I’m not being influenced here, Rae, I’m still going to listen to Sykkuno when he wakes up.’’

‘’You should watch the clip’’ Rae insisted. ‘’You’re his…’’

She trailed off, clearly expecting a very particular answer. Corpse stared at Sykkuno’s sleeping form and-

‘’Boyfriend?’’ supplied Corpse, smiling slightly.

Rae let out a little coo. ‘’So it _is_ true!’’

Corpse’s smile widened, a little embarrassed. ‘’Did he not tell you?’’

‘’He sort of’’ he could hear Rae smiling and clearing her throat and her voice pitched up cutely, ‘’Rae I’m monka esing right now, I can’t answer thAAttt’’

Corpse laughed, shuffling his feet shyly.

‘’You should go be with him’’ said Rae, lingering sadness in her voice. Corpse nodded quietly, and before he could say anything, the fondness retouched her voice. ‘’He really loves you.’’

‘’Yeah?’’

‘’Mmhm’’ said Rae and the smile was back in her voice. ‘’He phoned me up a few days before the OTV trust building exercise and he was like ‘’Hi, Rae, Brodin asked me to wear a nurse outfit’’ and I teased him about it being a sexy one and he was like ‘’no- well, actually maybe’’ and I asked him and he said he did have the sexy nurse outfit and he wanted to wear it but then he was like ‘’oh but don’t you think it’d be rude?’’ and I asked him why it would be rude and he said ‘’well Cor- I MEAN, the person I’m- I want to show it to- goes to the hospital quite a lot actually, I don’t want to sexuali- you know what Rae, I’m glad we had this conversation, I’m gonna do the Right Thing and not wear it.’’

Corpse groaned loudly. ‘’You’re trying to tell me that Sykkuno did not wear a sexy nurse costume because he thought it would offend me?’’

Rae giggled. ‘’It had _fishnets_.’’

‘’You’re just making me profoundly sad now, Rachel’’ said Corpse, pouting.

‘’Although’’ said Rae, and he heard the grin in her voice. ‘’Poki and Toast told me that he didn’t actually return it to Brodin.’’

‘’I’ll talk to him about that’’ said Corpse, watching Sykkuno shift sleepily. The light from the rarely open balcony would’ve triggered him into waking up but Sykkuno was knocked out, tired and exhausted, burying his face in the pillow. ‘’He’s sleeping now.’’

‘’Go be with him’’ said Rae softly. ‘’Tell him to message me when he feels better.’’

‘’Will do’’ said Corpse, feeling the sadness crash back onto him. He stared at the sun setting over the tall buildings, the perpetual smoke and heat of the land rendering everything just slightly fuzzy around the edges.

‘’Thank you, Corpse’’ said Rae and her voice was warm. ‘’Thank you for being there. I know this is a weird time to say it but I’ve genuinely never seen Sykkuno this happy and confident before. You’re- you both are good for each other.’’

‘’Thank you, Rae’’ said Corpse, the sadness receeding slightly. The colours of the sunset were more prominent now and it reminded Corpse of when he first met Sykkuno, backlit by the pink and orange sky. ‘’I’ll talk to you later’’.

Rae hummed softly and the call beeped its end.

He walked back in, pulling the string of his drapes. The room was dark again and Corpse felt blindly for the switch of the fairy lights, flicking them onto a peaceful golden colour. He dug through his medicines, and kept an aspirin and checked their bottle of water before he sat down heavily next to Sykkuno, staring at his own feet for a second. He pulled out his phone with a sense of trepidation.

People had already tagged him in things, most comments positive and concerned about Sykkuno. Corpse felt his heart break as he heard Sykkuno’s voice crack as he apologised frantically, the long pause of Sykkuno switching off his facecam, the way he sounded defeated when he said he shouldn’t be talking. He quickly liked a few posts that were positive and put the phone away, fear of breaking down himself. He put it away and stared down at Sykkuno’s face.

Any other time Corpse would try to stare at Sykkuno, he’d get shy and flustered, eyes flitting away, hands coming up to cover his face. Corpse brushed his soft dark hair away from his eyes and studied his profile. Sykkuno made a tiny sound, leaning into the touch and Corpse smiled, carding his fingers through his hair softly. Sykkuno seemed to fall into a deeper sleep, fingers twitching against Corpse’s pillow that he had curled himself around.

Eventually Corpse stopped trying to desperately engrave Sykkuno’s peaceful, beautiful face to his memory and laid down next to him, tugging him closer so he was tucked safely into Corpse’s side and Corpse tried not to think about how perfectly Sykkuno slotted there. Sykkuno made a little noise again, burrowing closer into his warmth and Corpse held him close, his bare legs soft and warm, curling up against the heavy material of Corpse’s pants.

‘’Corpse?’’ mumbled Sykkuno, snuggling even closer as Corpse gently dug his thumbs into the back of Sykkuno’s neck and Sykkuno made a pleased, relaxed sound.

‘’Go back to sleep, baby’’ murmured Corpse softly and Sykkuno made a little hum

‘’I love you’’ he whispered and Corpse felt his heart clench, holding Sykkuno close to him. ‘’So much’’ said Sykkuno, louder. ‘’I love you so much, Corpse.’’

There was something almost painful about the admission and Corpse squeezed his eyes shut, trying to avoid the telltale pinprick of tears that he felt sting his eyes. Sykkuno’s love was quiet, boundless. It was the selfless way he put other people before himself; it was the way he laughed, bright and warm, lighting up the room. It was the kindness in him that he never took an opportunity to look at Corpse’s face, even when he was vulnerable. It was the way he held Corpse close to himself on his darkest nights, his long fingers splaying on Corpse’s back protectively; it was his gentle doe eyes looking up at him with ridiculous boundless trust. Sykkuno loved in so many selfless little ways. Corpse, whose entire life was him saving his own skin couldn’t imagine being this selfless, this vulnerable. The mindless ‘’I love you’’s he threw at Sykkuno paled in comparison to the genuine love Sykkuno gave him daily. Hearing it out loud almost hurt a little too good.

‘’I love you too’’ said Corpse, his voice cracking. ‘’Go to sleep baby.’’

Sykkuno lifted his head, eyes drowsy but now worried. ‘’Corpse?’’

Of course Sykkuno would know the second he sounded even slightly off.

‘’I’m okay’’ said Corpse softly and Sykkuno cupped his face tenderly, mask and all and pressed a soft fleeting kiss to his lips before settling back down, tossing his leg over Corpse’s body, almost protectively trapping him under his own weight.

He fell into an uneasy sleep, waking up every other odd hour to Sykkuno shifting and he cradled Sykkuno’s head gently against his shoulder. When he couldn’t sleep for long stretches of minutes that felt like years in the dark of the night, he traced the long line of Sykkuno’s back, protected by his sweatshirt. Sykkuno always curled closer, his limbs tightening around Corpse’s body, the warmth of his body lulling Corpse back into sleep.

Eventually Sykkuno woke up and Corpse stared at the glow of the fairy lights that filtered their room as Sykkuno yawned loudly at his neck. Their little LED clock glowed at 4:17 am, uncharacteristically early for both of them. Sykkuno sat up and made a grateful noise when he saw the aspirin and water and downed it, wincing, before settling down on Corpse’s chest.

‘’I’’ mumbled Sykkuno eventually, voice scratchy and tired. ‘’Have the worlds worst headache.’’

Corpse smiled into his messy tufty hair. ‘’Wonder why.’’

Sykkuno whined and buried his head deeper into Corpse’s chest, pulling the cover over himself. As an afterthought, his hand shot out to cover Corpse’s head too, although it was mostly futile as Corpse’s feet stuck out from underneath.

‘’Its so bright’’ moaned Sykkuno miserably, restless. ‘’I’m almost thirty, I should remember I hate drinking.’’

‘’Why did you?’’

Sykkuno stopped moving suddenly.

‘’I’m not mad at you’’ said Corpse reassuringly. ‘’I’m just worried.’’

Sykkuno sighed. ‘’I’m guessing you realised I wasn’t playing a drinking stream.’’

‘’No’’ said Corpse agreeably. ‘’But that was a surprisingly convincing lie, so your imposter skills aren’t as bad as everyone says.’’

Sykkuno laughed quietly and winced. Corpse gently ran his fingers through the soft hair, gently ruffling them and the tension in Sykkuno’s body seemed to wear down as he melted down into the mattress.

‘’It’s just’’ Sykkuno said, his voice faint and sad. ‘’Not been a good few weeks.’’

‘’You wanna talk about it?’’

‘’I don’t know’’ said Sykkuno sadly. ‘’I don’t like complaining. It’s such a good life, I know it’s really ungrateful. I just started streaming to make friends and now it’s my job and I still feel so…’’

His voice trailed off and Corpse tightened his arms around him.

‘’It’s okay’’ he murmured. ‘’You know it doesn’t matter right? It’s okay that you’re doing well and you’re sad. These things aren’t exactly mutually exclusive. Have you ever considered talking to someone about this? A therapist or someo-‘’

Sykkuno, who had just relaxed under him stiffened immediately and Corpse could feel his breath quicken in a panic.

‘’Or not’’ he said hurriedly. ‘’I’m here too if you ever want to talk. Or Lily or Toast or Rae. Rae, actually wanted to apologise to you.’’

‘’Oh no’’ said Sykkuno, distressed. ‘’It wasn’t her fault at all.’’

‘’She said you can take your time and message her’’ said Corpse reassuringly, kissing on top of his head. Sykkuno’s breathing evened out slightly, nosing Corpse’s shoulder gently.

‘’I love you’’ mumbled Corpse softly. Sykkuno made a shy soft sound, brushing a soft kiss to his shoulder. Corpse smiled again, curling up his feet which were now cold against Sykkuno’s toasty warm ones and Sykkuno hissed softly before sandwiching his feet around Corpse’s, warming them and Corpse’s smile widened at that nonverbal response.

‘’At least the aspirin has started working’’ said Sykkuno absently, pressing a kiss to Corpse’s shoulder again. Corpse held him closer, fingers gently rubbing circles at the base of Sykkuno’s neck, playing with the soft short strands there.

‘’I should probably call Rae over’’ said Sykkuno after a brief peaceful silence. Corpse hummed softly, fingers toying with the hem of his sweatshirt. His palms slid under the shirt, feeling up miles of warm, soft skin. Sykkuno made a quiet, content sound, kissing up Corpse’s neck. His soft lips brushed against his jaw, right under where the mask ended and Corpse shivered. He pulled it off, safe in the dark and his hands returned under the shirt, caressing the skin under him.

‘’You should’’ murmured Corpse lazily, fingers lazily tracing patterns on Sykkuno’s skin. Sykkuno was sucking soft kisses on his neck. ‘’I have a doctor’s appointment later in the day’’

Sykkuno paused in his kisses. ‘’Is everything okay?’’

‘’Just a checkup’’ said Corpse. His hands couldn’t stop touching Sykkuno, the feeling of his soft bare skin under the shirt, the light gooseflesh his fingers seemed to leave behind. He shifted slightly allowing Sykkuno adjust himself around Corpse so that he didn’t have to strain as much while pursuing his path of kisses up Corpse’s neck. ‘’Having you around has definitely improved my reports though, I’m no longer just barely in the healthy weight range.’’

Sykkuno made a pleased noise. ‘’It’s because I keep feeding you.’’

‘’It is’’ said Corpse indulgently and Sykkuno bit down on his neck gently, suckling softly and Corpse let himself close his eyes content to let Sykkuno have at it. Pressed up like this [ _like lovers_ his mind supplied], Sykkuno’s soft lips pressing softer kisses on him like he was precious and treasured, like Corpse wasn’t a broken husk of a person made Corpse’s trashed up heart light up like a Christmas tree. It was like Corpse’s heart was a piece of broken pottery and Sykkuno was a kintsugi artist, patching it up with gold and making it beautiful and more precious than it was before. His hands travelled down to Sykkuno’s long legs and-

‘’Rae told me you didn’t wear a sexy nurse outfit because you thought it would upset me’’ said Corpse, and he tried very hard to not sound as petulant as he felt. He pinched Sykkuno’s ass for good measure.

Sykkuno made an equally petulant noise. ‘’You’re literally going to the doctor today for the third time in the month, of course I’m not going to sexualise your pain.’’

‘’It’s not sexualising’’ said Corpse, rolling them over, pressing kisses to his face and Sykkuno burst into giggles as he attacked him with kisses. Corpse pinned down the hand that was coming up to cover his laugh and pinned the other one too. Sykkuno was giggling and squirming as Corpse pressed fleeting kisses to his face.

‘’I can’t be won like that’’ said Sykkuno, still laughing as he tried to squirm away. Corpse bit playfully at his jaw.

‘’Yes you can’’ cooed Corpse, kissing his nose.

‘’Yeah, you’re right’’ said Sykkuno easily. He knitted their fingers together where Corpse held him down and Corpse leaned down to kiss him deeply. Sykkuno’s soft gasp quickly turned into a moan and Corpse smiled, nipping his soft lip, sucking it softly. Sykkuno twisted his wrists away, reaching up to cup Corpse’s face. His hands remained there, the soft pads of his thumbs brushing against the exposed skin of Corpse’s face and Corpse found it difficult to _breathe_ normally, for reasons apart from his narrowed airways. Somehow, burying his face in Sykkuno’s neck seemed to help.

‘’Wear the damn outfit’’ he murmured and tried not to smile when Sykkuno’s laugh rumbled quietly next to his cheek.


	2. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Spedicey” he said slowly and his handsome face was alit with childish glee. “You’re trying to tell me Sykkuno has a crush on me?”
> 
> Jack’s protective instincts flared. “Corpse I swear to god, if you harass him about this-”
> 
> Corpse was still grinning. “What, you think I shouldn’t?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Corpse and Sykkuno through their friends eyes

_november 23rd_

'’Corpse has gone to the doctor’’ Sykkuno said as he escorted Rae inside the house. ‘’I’m vacuuming the place because he couldn’t vacuum parts of the house because I was streaming.’’

‘’He’s domesticated you’’ said Rae, amused as she watched Sykkuno lean a stick vacuum against a wall before following him to the kitchen ‘’Is everything okay with him?’’

‘’He’s fine, you should see him in a while’’ said Sykkuno, and his eyes brightened as she passed him the coffee Toast had sent over. She cupped her hands around her own coffee, letting the beverage warm her hands as Sykkuno hopped onto the platform near the drying rack, his long fingered hands occupied with cup.

‘’Sykkuno’’ started Rae awkwardly, and she tried to find the words that accurately described how miserable she felt when she saw Sykkuno’s camera shut off, the painful cracks in his voice. ‘’I’m-‘’

‘’Don’t apologise’’ said Sykkuno immediately, setting his coffee down. ‘’Really. I feel terrible about the fact that you want to apologise at all.’’

They slipped into easy conversation after that and Rae studied him as he explained something about the apartment complex that they were in. Sykkuno was always full of nervous buzzing energy, sort of like a chaotic bumblebee but he looked oddly calm and peaceful. He was setting a pot of tea for Corpse and her eyes kept getting drawn to his shirt which was much too large for him, the neck of it drooping slightly to reveal his collarbones and-

‘’Well I’m glad you get along well with Corpse’’ she said, nodding pointedly at the large purpled hickey under his collarbone.

Sykkuno blinked. ‘’Yeah I do.’’

‘’Best friends, I imagine’’ she said sarcastically, and he finally noticed and blushed, dropping his head.

‘’I’m guessing Corpse told you’’ he said awkwardly and she kicked his foot.

‘’You’re the worst friend ever’’ said Rae indignantly. ‘’I’m supposed to hear from _you_ , not _him_ ’’

‘’He’s your friend too!!’’ said Sykkuno, equally indignant and Rae laughed poking his knee.

‘’Go on then’’ she said amused. He smiled down at his hands and shrugged. Rae cooed, pinching his pinked cheek. ‘’I want details!!’’

‘’There’s not much details’’ he mumbled, shoulders still hunched up in a shrug but his cheeks were pink and Rae sniggered. ‘’It just sorta happened. I probably- he should tell you.’’

Rae smacked his knee. ‘’What did I just- _what did I just say_ , you’re a terrible friend, Sykkuno.’’

‘’I’m just trying to look out for him!!’’ said Sykkuno petulantly, brushing her hand away. ‘’What if he doesn’t want me to tell people?’’

‘’He’s literally the one who told me, you idiot’’ said Rae amused. ‘’But it’s cute that you both look out for each other.’’

‘’He looked out for me?’’ Sykkuno asked, eyes widening in surprise.

‘’Yup’’ said Rae, hopping onto the table opposite the counter, swinging her legs. ‘’Called me up all scary like ‘’what happened.’’ So I told him but I’ve never heard him sound all scary like that.’’

‘’Oh I didn’t mean for him to…get mad at you’’ said Sykkuno awkwardly but his eyes were bright and happy, as he looked down at his hands.

‘’You’re still happy about it’’ accused Rae but she couldn’t help but smile as Sykkuno sputtered awkwardly. Luckily before Rae could tease him about it, there was a muffled sound by the door.

Sykkuno’s head snapped up expectantly as the sound of the keys jangling by door. He jumped off the counter and pattered outside and Rae’s smile widened as she heard a happy ‘’Corpse!’’ from the door and responding low rumble. She hopped off her own seat, grabbing both their coffees and tried not to stare creepily.

Corpse was not significantly taller than Sykkuno but he was distinctly bigger, his arms wrapped around Sykkuno’s narrow body. His hair was dark and curly, messy from the travel. Sykkuno was saying something, his soft voice pitched curiously and Rae watched as Corpse’s arms tightened around his body, holding him closer and Sykkuno stepped closer, his feet resting on Corpse’s as he buried his face in Corpse’s neck. She leaned against the door, smiling as they both held each other, watching Corpse’s large veiny hand gently rub Sykkuno’s back. Corpse seemed to realise someone else was watching as his head shot up and one light brown eye stared directly at her.

‘’Don’t mind me’’ she said, raising her coffee to them and Sykkuno broke away and Rae felt her mood spike when she saw the joy on Sykkuno’s face, Corpse’s arm loosely wrapped around his waist as he looked up shyly at Corpse.

‘’I’ll get you something’’ mumbled Sykkuno, flitting away bashfully and Rae suppressed a laugh as Corpse stuck his hand out awkwardly for her to shake.

‘’He’s doing okay?’’ Corpse asked, the low timbre of his voice awkward as he stood there, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He seemed more imposing without Sykkuno near him but yet somehow awkward, incomplete almost. Rae nodded encouragingly at his attempt for conversation though.

‘’He’s great’’ she said cheerfully, tugging his arm towards the hall. ‘’I barely got to apologise to him because he wouldn’t let me, but that’s all well because you’re here now.’’

‘’It is?’’

‘’Sure is’’ said Rae, watching as he sat down awkwardly on one of his own armchairs and she studied him a bit better. His one eye that was visible without the eyepatch had an impressive winged liner and-

‘’Do you do the wing on both eyes even if the other one has an eyepatch?’’ she asked curiously. From the kitchen, she heard Sykkuno laugh.

‘’I do, actually’’ said Corpse, snorting. His laugh was warm and filled the room and Rae felt herself smiling as his eyebrow arched amusedly as he tugged off the eyepatch. Comfortable, Rae crossed her legs under herself as Sykkuno came outside with a dark mug and handed it to Corpse. Corpse’s body language immediately relaxed, sitting back in the chair as Sykkuno passed him the mug. Sykkuno took his own coffee from Rae’s extended hand and perched himself delicately on the edge of the armchair.

‘’Rae told me you won’t let her apologise’’ said Corpse, and his voice had changed from the awkward rumble to a much more relaxed affectionate tone. He pulled his mask up just enough that he could drink and like Sykkuno, seemed to subconsciously cover his face when he did.

‘’Absolutely’’ said Sykkuno firmly, nodding. ‘’It wasn’t their fault at all. Toast tried apologising to me too today morning, and it’s not their fault at all. I’m just- I shouldn’t have streamed. I was tired and stressed, I should’ve taken the day off.’’

‘’I wish I recorded that’’ said Corpse, his voice amused and reprimanding and Sykkuno pinked, feet tapping the floor. Corpse turned to face Rae, who was smiling. ‘’He doesn’t listen to me’’ came the complaint. ‘’Sykkuno pushes himself too hard.’’

‘’He does’’ said Rae amused as Sykkuno sputtered indignantly.

‘’There’s no pushing hard when I’m at home, playing games with my friends’’ said Sykkuno firmly. He glowered at Corpse whose fondness was palpable through his jet black mask with sharp canines printed on. ‘’I shouldn’t have streamed if my friends not laughing at a few jokes was going to put me off so bad.’’

‘’Just so we’re clear’’ Rae added. ‘’Your jokes are _hysterical._ We were already stressed with the Minecraft server getting nuked and all. It wasn’t entirely your fault, even we were a bit…overwhelmed. But you’re really funny Sykkuno.’’

Sykkuno ducked his head awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. ‘’Um-t-thanks?‘’

‘’She’s right’’ said Corpse, relaxing into his chair. His warm honey coloured eyes were adoring as Sykkuno ducked under the weight of his own shyness. ‘’You’re the funniest person I know.’’

‘’That’s really not saying much’’ muttered Sykkuno and Corpse laughed again, and the sound warmed Rae again as she took a sip of her coffee.

Conversation was easy from there; Corpse was surprisingly chatty, clearly emboldened by Sykkuno perched carefully on the side of his chair and while Rae was paying attention, her focus was more on the silent catalyst of their conversation.

Sykkuno never did well with attention and so it made sense that he was content to sit there, balanced on the arm of Corpse’s chair like a small bird, away from the main conversation. He seemed entirely at peace, nodding and laughing at whatever Corpse said, interjecting it with little quips that made Corpse laugh or lightened the mood. He was still himself, restless as his fingers tapped away at the lid of his coffee or the soft _patpatpat_ noises his socked feet made on the floor but he seemed content to sit there, bright doe eyes trained on Corpse adoringly. In his own respect, Corpse seemed entirely smitten too, leaving little pauses for Sykkuno to laugh, pulling Sykkuno into the conversation if he was silent for too long. He supported Rae when she poked fun at Sykkuno at having too many houseplants but Rae saw his hand gently let go of his mug and rest on the small of Sykkuno’s back.

Even though was talking to Rae, it was obvious that the target of the conversation was the audience Sykkuno provided and Rae felt like a proud older sister to both of them.

Somewhere in the middle of it, Poki’s call came and Rae excused herself briefly to answer it. Poki, who laughed hysterically when she told her that she felt ridiculously single watching Sykkuno and Corpse interact.

‘’It’s like watching an old married couple and a newlywed couple combined’’ grumbled Rae goodnaturedly, gently feeling the leaf of a fig tree at the edge of their window where she was facing. Poki laughed again, the sound tinny but familiarly warm and told her to hurry home so they could stream. She cut the call and exhaled, staring at the large fig tree in amusement before turning heel to tell her hosts that she had to leave and peeked into the room she’d abandoned.

Sykkuno had migrated from the edge of the chair to onto the chair- onto Corpse’s lap to be exact. Corpse’s bright silver rings glinted against the dark of Sykkuno’s stolen sweatshirt.

‘’…not enough for dinner’’ Sykkuno was saying, playing with the fingers that were on his shirt. His voice was soft, quietly intimate as his fingers traced the rings on his thumb. ‘’We could skip it eat like- an insane breakfast tomorrow.’’

‘’I’m not hungry either. You could make the thing tomorrow’’ Corpse suggested. His eyes were closed as he pressed his cheek against Sykkuno’s and Rae felt herself blushing too, the soft amorous tone crawling up her skin. Sykkuno pinked as he continued, ‘’The thing you make with eggs and leftover bread.’’

‘’Eggy bread?’’

‘’Yess’’ said Corpse, his voice pleased. ‘’Let’s go nuts. I got some mochi back too. Bananas and maple syrup.’’

‘’Oh Jesus, that’s so much sugar. You’re going to be jumping off the walls’’ said Sykkuno, and his voice was fond in a way Rae had never heard. He was leaning against Corpse’s shoulder, eyes trained on Corpse’s face. Corpse hummed softly and Rae watched his light eyes flutter open and

‘’Guess you’ll have to find a way to tire me out’’ he murmured, his arms tightening around Sykkuno’s waist and Rae felt herself blush as Sykkuno tipped his head back in a ridiculously vulnerable way, a tiny breathless sound escaping him and she finally looked away, clearing her throat loudly.

Sykkuno squeaked and jumped out of Corpse’s arms, causing Corpse to make a sad, despondent sound, gripping his hand like a child.

‘’Lily’s eggy bread is a great recipe’’ she said awkwardly, and Sykkuno buried his face in his hands, making embarrassed noises. Corpse on the other seemed thoroughly smug.

‘’We often have leftover bread’’ explained Corpse, tugging Sykkuno back to awkwardly sit on his knee, nothing like the intimate embrace they were just in.

Sykkuno peeked from above his hand. ‘’It’s because you don’t know how to buy bread.’’ Corpse snorted, and Sykkuno’s hand moved away from his face, slightly more confident. ‘’He buys these huge loaves of bread-‘’

‘’-they’re so good, dude’’ said Corpse, and Rae tried not to think about how it was almost exactly the same voice he used on Sykkuno a minute ago.

‘’-they _are,_ but we’re only two people’’ protested Sykkuno, twisting away to stare at Corpse and _he isn’t even trying to sound mad_ thought Rae amusedly.

‘’You eat like a small tank’’ objected Corpse and before Sykkuno could reply, he tugged him back into his arms, and his eyes were back on Rae and the smugness was dripping from his voice, ‘’it’s so sexy? I love a man with a healthy appetite.’’

Sykkuno was smacking the arm that was wrapped around his waist, but it couldn’t be more obvious he was comfortable and happy, his eyes were crinkled in a rare smile that she could see, and when he wasn’t whacking Corpse, it settled down comfortably, almost protectively on top of his; long fingered hands covering Corpse’s veinier ones, thumb gently stroking the veins.

They escorted her til the elevators, holding hands shyly and Rae hugged both of them, heart light and yet somehow feeling ridiculously single as she walked upto her car. She glanced up at the apartment complex and laughed when she saw Sykkuno holding Corpse’s arm up, waving it as Corpse willingly let him. She didn’t even have to be there to know that Corpse’s eyes trained on Sykkuno, who was giggling, and she found herself smiling as she drove back home.

  * ●●



_december, 2020_

Jack could easily say that Corpse and Sykkuno were some of the best people he knew, but he would be lying if he said he didn’t have a very soft, protective corner in his heart for Sykkuno.

_It was late at night, dusk fading into dawn in the Irish coast when Sykkuno’s soft voice first filtered through the voice channel._

_“J-Jack?”_

_“Sykkuni!” he shouted, delighted. Talking to Sykkuno was always a delight. “How’s my favourite guy doing?”_

_A shy laugh, and Jack grinned brighter. “I’m- I’m okay!”_

_The option to switch to video flickered and Jack clicked it. Sykkuno looked wonderful- he always did- and he blushed when Jack said that, sputtering shyly._

_“How’s Corpse treating you, buddy?” Jack asked lazily, spinning in his chair. Dawn had almost crept upon them, birds chirping, the first sounds of traffic sparking into the air. Sykkuno’s voice was a soothing balm after a day of screaming. “Is he a good roommate?”_

_“He’s a great roommate actually” said Sykkuno. His voice was pleased and it settled warmly in Jack’s heart as he watched Sykkuno’s face settle contently. Good ol’ Sykkuno and his wonderful way of making people feel good. “I actually wanted to ask about him.”_

_“Yeah?”_

_“Um” said Sykkuno and he hesitated. His eyes were shy. “Is- this is such a strange question-is Corpse…interested in anyone right now?”_

_Jack raised an eyebrow. “Sykkuno?”_

_Sykkuno backtracked. “Oh Jesus- I mean. I don’t want- you don’t have to answer that- I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to impose-”_

_“Sykkuno, relax” said Jack, sitting up straight, hands on the desk. Intrigue coursed through him. “I don’t think so, first off, but Corpse is a pretty private guy. Also he doesn’t talk to me about this stuff, you know.”_

_Sykkuno exhaled. “Right. I’m sorry Jack.”_

_“What about it, then” Jack asked curiously. “Do you know someone who is?”_

_“Aren’t we all into Corpse” came the reply and Jack stared at the tiny smile curving on his lips._

_“Oh my god you like him!” he crowed, and Sykkuno was quiet, cheeks pinking again. A tiny nod. “Sykkuno- buddy, that’s adorable.”_

_“I- I actually don’t know” replied Sykkuno and he buried his head in his hands. Jack felt a pang of sympathy. “Isn’t he into girls?”_

_Jack winced. “From what I know, yeah. Tell me though, do you think he likes you.”_

_Sykkuno’s face was frustrated, pretty features pinched into a moue. “I- people always think I’m memeing them but I- I really don’t know what that means. What are signals? What are…how do you know when someone likes you? I just figured out I liked him because we were washing dishes and he laughed at something I said and I wanted to kiss him- Jack I’ve not even had my first kiss yet!”_

_There was a profound silence as Sykkuno breathed heavily._

_“Okay, so he laughed at something you said” said Jack carefully. “That’s promising.”_

_“How” whined Sykkuno and Jack couldn’t help but smile. “I laugh at things you say and I don’t want to kiss you.” His eyes widened. “Wait that’s rude-”_

_“-extremely rude” huffed Jack. “All I dream about is kissing you, Sykkuni.”_

_Sykkuno laughed quietly, embarrassed. “Thanks Jack.”_

_“Listen, buddy” said Jack soothingly. “All I can tell you is Corpse cares about you a lot. If this is just a crush- it’ll pass soon, don’t worry. Corpse is sort of mesmerising- he’s like a siren, with that voice. I’m sure over time, either he’ll come around to having a crush on you or you’ll move on.”_

_Sykkuno’s long fingers were twisted against each other, anxiously wringing them. “What if this is the only time this happens?”_

_“Come again?”_

_“I mean” said Sykkuno and he closed his eyes, trying to form a sentence. “I mean- Jack you know girls aren’t into me right? And I’m into girls. I really am- I like women! But, I’ve never felt like this before. I see him cooking and fumbling with foil and I help him- it makes me happy that I can be there for him. Whenever he goes to the hospital or he doesn’t eat or I don’t see him- it hurts me. I don’t want to see his face, his voice could be as high as Lily’s and I wouldn’t care about any of that. I don’t want him to be in pain. I’ve- I’ve never felt like that about anyone- I want to be there for him.”_

_“Sykkuno” said Jack softly._

_Sykkuno’s eyes flickered open. “It’s bad huh.”_

_“You will find love, Sykkuno” said Jack, and his heart ached to see Sykkuno so desperate. “I can’t tell you if that’s Corpse or someone else. But you’re an incredible guy, buddy, that’s the most beautiful thing I’ve heard anyone say.”_

Which is why he tried his best to hang around Corpse and Sykkuno as much as he could, watching Corpse interact with Sykkuno. To his credit, Sykkuno was incredibly sweet to literally everyone but Jack tried not to smile when he heard faint traces of puppy love slip into Sykkuno’s soft voice.

It was the end of another stream when he called up Corpse.

It always startled him to see Corpse’s face without the mask. Corpse was a sort of handsome that bordered on almost intense, hollow cheeks and intense eyes. His fingers were absentmindedly playing with some chains, the veins standing in stark contrast with the jet black of his shirt.

“You’re getting more handsome by the day” crooned Jack, leaning back against his chair.

Corpse flushed. “You don’t have to say that” he mumbled, and Jack wanted to platonically kiss his precious face. “Congratulations on Thankmas!”

Jack beamed, proud. “Thank you buddy, you guys made it a hit. Hope you’re taking care of your voice and everything.”

“I am” said Corpse, and Jack observed that his face wasn’t quite as gaunt as he was last time- the bruises under his eyes were negligent and his skin looked better. “The real hero here is Sykkuno’s grandmother.”

Jack raised his eyebrow. “Sykkuno’s grandmother?”

“Yeah, she tells him to make these crazy concoctions with all kinds of spices, it tastes wild” laughed Corpse, and his eyes sparkled. “Can’t say no to the guy though, so I drink the stuff. Maybe it’s placebo but I do feel…better after drinking that shit.”

“Can’t say no to Sykkuno” agreed Jack, and Corpse hummed, leaning on his hand before a small knock came. Corpse dimmed the light in his room and tugged off his headset briefly, nodding at Jack. His face was out of frame briefly and Jack heard a quiet “hey baby”. His eyebrow arched again as he stared at the purple-green mark under Corpse’s chin.

A muffled voice and Jack heard the sound of footfalls as Corpse resettled back into the chair. He was holding a plate of fruit.

“Babe?” asked Jack, curious.

“Yeah- uh” Corpse’s eyes shifted. “I’m kinda seeing someone right now.”

“Oh” said Jack slowly. The conversation with Sykkuno was about 3 months old but it still pinched him. “Congratulations!”

“Yeah” said Corpse, and he was smiling in a truly genuine, warm way. “It’s- it’s _really_ good right now. I’m sort of addicted to having this in my life.”

“You deserve it buddy” he replied. Corpse’s face fell slightly.

“Are you- is everything okay?” asked Corpse. His voice was earnest, his eyes even more so and Jack sighed heavily.

“It’s Sykkuno” he blurted and he wondered if he was going to fuck this up for Sykkuno, Corpse and the mystery love interest. Corpse’s eyes widened.

“Sykkuno?” he asked, and his voice was concerned, urgent. “What about him?”

He exhaled. “I need you to forget I ever said anything.”

“No, Jack, you need to tell me” insisted Corpse. He was leaning against his desk, his rings clacking against the wood of the desk. Jack winced at the use of his name. “What’s up with Sykkuno?”

Jack smiled slightly at the urgency in his voice. “He’s okay, don’t worry about him.”

“Did he say anything to you?”

Jack exhaled, staring at the pixels of Corpse’s keen eyes. “A while back- this is just about when you guys moved in- he may have said something to me about…liking you.”

“Sykkuno _likes_ me?”

“More than he usually likes other people, yes” said Jack. Guilt crashed through him for revealing Sykkuno’s secret like that, but Sykkuno seemed to be doing well from whatever texts they were exchanging. Corpse was barely ever mentioned in these conversations but Sykkuno was the same sunshiney presence as he always was. No signs of heartbreak.

_Unless he was hiding it and now I went and royally fucked it up for him._

Corpse was grinning- it was the same impish smile a child would have if they knew something they shouldn’t.

“Spedicey” he said slowly and his handsome face was alit with childish glee. “You’re trying to tell me Sykkuno has a _crush_ on me?”

Jack’s protective instincts flared. “Corpse I swear to god, if you harass him about this-”

Corpse was still grinning. “What, you think I shouldn’t?”

“That’s cruel, Corpse, I didn’t think you’d do that” said Jack sharply. The guilt that ran through him was hot, shameful. Sykkuno had entrusted him with one tiny piece of his enigma and Jack had gone and revealed it to the person he should’ve never told.

“Relax, Jack, he can take it” said Corpse, and he was sniggering quietly. “You think he’s still into me?”

“For his own sake, I hope he isn’t” he retorted coldly. Sykkuno was just getting settled into the new house- he hoped that Corpse wouldn’t be an actual child about the whole thing but then again, Sykkuno and Jack were 28 and Corpse was still 23, sheltered and probably unaware that _adults_ didn’t bully each other for schoolground crushes.

There wasn’t much to say after that, Corpse was insufferably smug at the situation and Jack managed to politely divert the call away from the topic before ending the call. There was someone more important he needed to talk to.

Sykkuno was in his gaming chair when he called. His face was pleasantly surprised, doe eyes warm and trusting.

“You took the screen off!” said Jack, staring at the background of the room. There was a giant window from what he could see and the door faced the back of the stream. “Nice boba plushie!”

“Thanks Jack” said Sykkuno and Jack smiled a little at how much more comfortable he was while talking to Jack but the feeling dissolved quickly when he realised Sykkuno was probably never going to be comfortable like that around him ever again.

“Sykkuno, I wanted to apologise to you-” started Jack but his voice was drowned out quickly by a much louder shout.

Sykkuno startled, spinning in his chair and the door flung open. Jack wanted to scream at the sight of Corpse, who was leaning against the door, black mask on. Jack switched off his camera just in case, mortified.

“Oh, hey Corpse” said Sykkuno and Jack wanted to die at how painfully loving Sykkuno’s voice was off stream. _It’s not offstream_ thought Jack, aching _it’s for Corpse._ “Did you want something?”

“The best thing that could ever happen just happened” Corpse said, and his voice was teasing as he crossed his arms over his chest and Jack wanted to fly into America just to smack him. Sykkuno’s profile was curious as he tilted his head like a puppy.

“Did someone famous offer to collab? I don’t know a lot of rappers, Corpse, you know this…”

It was infuriatingly domestic. Jack wanted to rip his hair out at the slow trainwreck that was happening in front of him.

“Oh it’s famous alright” said Corpse, eyebrow arching. “Spedicey just called me.”

“Jack?” Sykkuno’s eyes flickered briefly to the webcamera.

“He had the most interesting thing to say to me” said Corpse and he uncrossed his arms, slowly walking towards Sykkuno. Jack watched with morbid fascination as the colour slowly rose up Sykkuno’s neck, warming the skin of his ears and his jaw as Corpse approached, stalking him. “Apparently, Sykkuno, you like me more than you like other people.”

Sykkuno opened and closed his pretty mouth a few times, before an exhausted “oh Jesus” and his face dropped into his hands. This didn’t seem to deter Corpse.

“ _Apparently_ , Sykkuno, you have a _crush_ on me” he said, and his voice was like sin, dark and smooth and even from under his hands Jack could see Sykkuno getting redder.

But then the strangest thing happened and Sykkuno glanced up from his hands and singsonged “you are my crawsh~” and Corpse wheezed, arms wrapping around Sykkuno’s narrow shoulders and a lightbulb went off in Jack’s head-

“Wait you’re dating _Sykkuno_?!” he shouted and Sykkuno jumped at the volume and Corpse wheezed even harder, huffing as he knelt down into the frame.

“Yeah- uh I didn’t tell you, Jack because I didn’t know-” stammered Sykkuno and his cheeks were still dusted pink and Corpse yanked him close, curling his arm protectively around Sykkuno’s waist and Jack let out an exhausted snort.

“Motherfucker, Corpse, you couldn’t have just said that?” he demanded, and Corpse was bent over, wheezing with laughter as Sykkuno shook his head disappointedly.

“Sykkuno- _Sykkuno-_ Jack is trying to sabotage our relationship” cackled Corpse, and Sykkuno’s face was amused and exasperated as he patted Corpse lightly on the back. “Jack said it’d be for your own good if you weren’t into me.”

“Oh Jesus” muttered Sykkuno, rubbing his temples and that just caused Corpse to wheeze harder, hands slapping the desk. “No unfortunately, I’m still into you.”

“Too bad Jack, he said it himself” sniggered Corpse, leaning on Sykkuno as he stood up. He winced and Jack watched as Sykkuno’s hand shot up to squeeze his gently; thin long fingers slotting neatly between stockier, veinier ones. He leaned down to press a kiss to Sykkuno’s forehead and Sykkuno _glowed_ , his smile crinkling his eyes. Corpse wandered in the distance, settling down comfortably in the bed, scrolling on his phone.

Sykkuno was still pink in the face, but his eyes were sparkly in a way Jack had never seen before, like an actual little anime character. “Is that what you wanted to apologise to me for?”

“Yeah” said Jack. Residual guilt still lingered in his chest. “This turned out well for now, I didn’t know you guys are dating.”

“He’s still going to tease me about this forever” informed Sykkuno but the quirk of his lips made Jack think that he wasn’t going to mind it all that much. Corpse laughed in the background, comfortable and languid on the bed and Sykkuno smiled wider. Jack smiled too- Sykkuno’s happiness was infectious.

“How is Corpse treating you, buddy?”

He glanced up briefly to notice that it was dawn again, harkening back to the first time he had asked that question. Birds were chirping, the buzz of Irish traffic was contributing to the noise pollution. Sykkuno was smiling shyly at him.

_Déjà vu._

And like clockwork, Sykkuno’s face relaxed into content peace. “He’s a great roommate actually. And this time he’s an actual roommate because we actually share a room together.”

“And mate” added Corpse loudly and Jack felt satisfaction settle into his bones as Sykkuno sputtered at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just some harmless fluff <3

**Author's Note:**

> the reviews under my first fic literally made me cry- I'm so overwhelmed by how much you guys liked it! I'm so happy to be a part of such an insightful and loving fandom.
> 
> Comments and kudoses help my raphae nuclei produce one (1) molecule of serotonin hehe <3


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